


left it all behind

by the_problem_with_stardust



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 12 Days of Sterek, Alternate Universe - Human, Christmas Eve, Doctor Derek Hale, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-17 00:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16964130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_problem_with_stardust/pseuds/the_problem_with_stardust
Summary: “Come on, Der. It’s Christmas Eve. We should do something.”Laura was currently perched on Derek’s desk, feet kicking against the drawers and smearing mud and salt in their wake.Derek sighed. “Just let me get this email done and we can go.”





	left it all behind

**Author's Note:**

> written for 12 days of sterek!

It had become habit. Derek dropped into a free row on the bus and set his laptop bag down beside him, effectively saving the seat. Two stops later, a familiar man got on and Derek pulled the bag onto his lap.

“Thanks,” the man said with a tired smile.

Derek returned it with a hesitant upturn of lips. Three months, and he had yet to even speak to the guy. Somewhere on the other side of town, Laura was laughing at him. He could feel it. She’d been making fun of his pining since the very beginning, to the point that Derek was contemplating getting his own place.

Like clockwork, the man’s head tipped forward and his breathing became even. The first few weeks of riding the bus, Derek had noticed the gorgeous guy with big hands and brown eyes. But as time passed, the shadows under the other man’s eye grew more pronounced until he began falling asleep standing up.

And Derek, hopeless as he was, came up with a plan. A plan that involved pretending to be a giant asshole so no one took the seat next to him. At least not until the man got a chance to.

At the beginning, Derek had hoped he’d be able to strike up conversation. But beyond the quiet thanks, they’d never even acknowledged each other.

 _People can’t read minds, dumbass,_ the voice in his head supplied helpfully. It sounded just like Laura.

Derek sighed, hunching further into his coat. It had gone from wanting to talk to the guy to wanting to tuck him in and make sure he got some real sleep. There was no way half an hour on the bus was all that helpful, and Derek wasn’t convinced he slept outside of his commute naps.

Somehow, the man always managed to wake up for his stop and smile at Derek one last time before rushing off the bus. And every time, Derek’s traitorous heart stuttered.

\---

“Come on, Der. It’s Christmas Eve. We should do something.”

Laura was currently perched on Derek’s desk, feet kicking against the drawers and smearing mud and salt in their wake.

Derek sighed. “Just let me get this email done and we can go.”

The tap of approaching heels gave him enough warning to move before Laura leapt off the desk, straightening her skirt. He shook his head at her antics while he pressed the send button and logged off. If Laura thought he was bad at flirting, she somehow managed to be worse.

“Lydia! I- I mean Mrs… Ms Martin. Dr. Martin. What are you doing here?”

Barely holding back a snort, Derek raised an eyebrow at his colleague. She ignored him and smiled at Laura instead. Somehow his sister’s awkward fumbling worked for her.

“Laura. How are you doing?”

“Good!” Laura dropped her keys, and then her purse when she bent to retrieve them.

Derek rested his forehead on his desk. Maybe Laura wasn’t self-conscious, but the secondhand embarrassment was killing him.

She babbled for a bit, Lydia nodding along and commenting occasionally. Something about Derek being a workaholic and not wanting to do stuff during the holidays.

Lydia nodded, looking sad. “I have a friend like that. He’s working himself into the ground and I can’t even get him to take an hour off to eat something.”

They commiserated for awhile, Laura gradually relaxing and acting more Laura-like. Derek packed up his stuff and filed away the stray papers Laura had displaced when she evacuated her desk perch. Then they walked down to the lobby, Derek and Laura heading for the bus while Lydia waited on her ride.

The bus was practically empty, so Laura sprawled out across an entire row. “I think that went well,” she said, grinning to herself.

“You should ask her out,” Derek said, repeating the same advice he’d been giving for the past _year_.

The Hales weren’t very good about glass houses.

She was halfway through the list of potential names for their succulents – the kids, dog, cats, and rabbit already had theirs – when the man stopped at the empty seat next to Derek’s and slumped into it automatically.

Laura froze, mouth still open.

Oblivious, the guy leaned back in his seat, keeping his head down so Derek couldn’t see his face. Across the bus, Laura was making all kinds of gestures and facial expressions. She’d always been the best at charades.

When Derek turned to look out the window, she threw up her hands and sat properly.

“Hey,” she said, tapping the guy’s shoulder to get his attention. But when he looked at her, she blanched. “Man, you look like shit.”

The guy laughed wetly, shoulders shaking.

Alarmed, Derek met Laura’s gaze. She had that look, the one that meant she was going to do something dumb and Derek was going to follow her. Like a moron.

“Where’re you headed?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I was supposed to work. But my boss sent me home.”

Which explained why he was on the bus later than usual and didn’t get on at his normal stop. Which seemed creepy for Derek to know, now that he thought about it.

“You have people there for you at home?” Laura asked.

The guy shook his head. “Just me.”

She sat back and nodded decisively. You’re coming home with me.”

He shifted, probably uncomfortable with being steamrolled, but Laura was already shaking her head.

“I’m an off-duty EMT. Either you come with me or you go to the hospital.”

“Fine.” The guy sat back, finally lifting his head enough that Derek could see the bruising on his face. “Maybe I could get a name too?”

Laura blinked. “Oh. Right. I’m Laura. Laura Hale.” She held out a hand, and the guy took it with a wince.

“I’m Stiles.”

But she was already looking over the damage on his knuckles. “What the hell.” Her eyes flicked toward Derek and he sighed.

“Broken?” he asked.

The guy – Stiles – jumped, like he’d forgotten Derek was even there. He’d be offended, but it looked like Stiles was all kinds of messed up at the moment.

Laura just shrugged, dropping Stiles’ hand so he could tuck it protectively against his chest again.

“I didn’t think you talked.” Stiles swayed slightly when he turned, his one good eye wide in surprise.

Concussion? Blood loss? Or lack of sleep? Derek wasn’t sure. But that was a hell of a shiner and his right eye was swollen almost completely shut.

Despite the situation, Laura snickered. “See? Even normal people think you’re a caveman.”

“So,” Derek avoided Stiles’ look. “You finally admit you aren’t normal?”

“Must be my genes. After all, I share half of them with you.”

Derek made a helpless noise. “That’s… That’s not how genetics works. You _know_ this.”

Laura leaned closer to Stilses, like she was sharing a secret. “He’s just grumpy because I’m the better-looking twin.”

Stiles snorted, then winced as his lip cracked open. “Damn.” He poked at the split with his tongue, making the blood well up.

“Stop that.” Derek dug through his bag and passed over a packet of tissue.

“You’re such a mom,” Laura said. “I bet you even have band aids and Neosporin.”

Buckling his bag back in place, Derek shrugged. “Somebody had to be the responsible one.”

Next to him, Stiles dabbed at his lip. His swaying was more pronounced and every instinct in Derek’s brain was screaming to call an ambulance. But if Stiles had tried to go into work like that, it wasn’t likely he could afford a hospital bill.

“Come on, this is us,” Laura picked up Stiles’ backpack and ushered him off the bus.

He went willingly, tissue still held to his mouth.

Once inside, Laura went into full medical-expert mode. She’d been a wilderness first responder for the entirety of the time Derek was in med school, only quitting when he had decided to move across the country.

Stiles sat still while she disinfected his numerous cuts and checked over his bruises. He winced a little at the sting of the alcohol and let out a breath of relief when she announced he’d managed to avoid breaking anything.

“I’m also pretty sure your head is okay? But we’ll keep an eye on you just in case.” Laura stood from where she was crouched on the floor, gathering up the mess and snapping off her gloves. “You were lucky, kid.”

“Kid?” Stiles mouthed, watching her dispose of the used wipes and gauze, already wrapped up in her gloves like she was going to have to pack it out.

Derek shrugged, finally moving from where he had been acting as Laura’s surgical assistant. He stretched his sore muscles and dropped down beside Stiles on the couch. “She’s a pensioner at heart.”

“And don’t forget it, baby bro.” Grabbing a bottle of painkillers and filling a glass with water, Laura brought both to Stiles.

She yawned, reaching to unplug the Christmas lights. They kept meaning to buy a timer, but for now their cheery mishmash of a tree was only illuminated when one of them plugged it in. And stayed that way until Laura remembered to unplug it.

“Alright.” She took one last look around the room, eyes landing on Stiles for a few seconds, evaluating. “I pulled a double, so I’m gonna head to bed. Stiles, come get me if you need anything.”

“’Night Laura,” Derek said, trying to ignore the panic at being left alone with ‘bus-guy’ as Laura liked to call him.

The door to her room clicked shut and Stiles sighed. “I’m sorry for,” he waved an arm, “all of this.”

“No need to apologize.” Derek glanced over to where he was staring out the window. “Is everything else okay?”

Stiles shrugged. “Just lost my temper. Some guy was getting handsy with a coworker. I told him to leave.”

“Looks like that didn’t go over so well.” Before the words were even out of his mouth, Derek wanted to take them back.

Luckily, Stiles burst out laughing. “Jeez you sure know how to kick a guy when he’s down.”

“Sorry,” Derek winced. “I’m not good at…”

“Small talk? Making friends? People in general?” Stiles smirked at him. “Hadn’t noticed.”

The many bus rides were probably not a great impression. Though strong and silent had probably been a better impression than whatever kind he was making now.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Stiles drew his attention away from his thoughts. “But maybe I could get a name to go with the face?”

Apparently, Derek hadn’t even introduced himself. “I’m Derek Hale.”

“Wait.” Stiles looked thoughtful, long fingers playing with the glass still in his hands. “Derek Hale like Dr. Hale? Do you know Lydia Martin?”

Realization hit Derek like slush from a passing bus. “You’re the friend. The one who’s working himself into the ground.”

Stiles blinked. “I mean. I wouldn’t go so far as to – ”

“Really?” Derek interrupted, unimpressed. “I watched you fall asleep standing up.”

“That’s why you started saving me a seat?”

Derek could feel heat creeping up the back of his neck. “Well. I also wanted to ask you out for coffee.”

The words almost sent Stiles flailing off the couch. “What? Why didn’t you?”

“It looked like you needed the sleep,” Derek admitted sheepishly.

It took a minute for him to look Stiles in the eye again, but when he did, Stiles was practically beaming. “Ask me sometime.”

“Okay.” Derek knew he was beaming back, just as bright. “But tomorrow. After you’ve had a good night’s sleep in an actual bed.”

Stiles pouted, or at least tried the best he could with a split lip.

Derek rolled his eyes, already feeling fond. “Come on, I’ll find you something to wear.”

It wasn’t until later, when Stiles was wrapped up in Derek’s covers and dressed in soft flannel pajamas, that Derek heard him whisper, “Best Christmas gift ever.”

With a small smile, he turned out the lights and shut the door softly behind him. Tomorrow, he would wake up to the sight of the Christmas tree and learn how Stiles took his coffee.

 

**Author's Note:**

> rebloggable edit and link coming soon!
> 
> EDIT: [Here it is!](https://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com/post/181158134307/12daysofsterek-author-theproblemwithstardust)
> 
> (also, there's backstory in the comments if y'all're interested)


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